An earth-boring drill bit is typically mounted on the lower end of a drill string and is rotated by revolving the drill string at the surface or by actuation of downhole motors or turbines, or by both methods. With weight applied to the drill string, the rotating drill bit engages the earthen formation and proceeds to form a borehole along a predetermined path toward a target zone. The borehole formed in the drilling process will have a diameter generally equal to the diameter or “gage” of the drill bit.
A typical earth-boring bit includes one or more rotatable cone cutters that perform their cutting function due to the rolling movement of the cone cutters acting against the formation material. The cone cutters roll and slide upon the bottom of the borehole as the bit is rotated, the cone cutters thereby engaging and disintegrating the formation material in its path. The rotatable cone cutters may be described as generally conical in shape and are therefore referred to as rolling cones.
Rolling cone bits typically include a bit body with a plurality of journal segment legs. The rolling cones are mounted on bearing pin shafts that extend downwardly and inwardly from the journal segment legs. The borehole is formed as the gouging and scraping or crushing and chipping action of the rotary cones remove chips of formation material which are carried upward and out of the borehole by drilling fluid which is pumped downwardly through the drill pipe and out of the bit.
The earth disintegrating action of the rolling cone cutters is enhanced by providing the cone cutters with a plurality of cutter elements. Cutter elements are generally of two types: inserts formed of a very hard material, such as tungsten carbide, that are press fit into undersized apertures in the cone surface; or teeth that are milled, cast or otherwise integrally formed from the material of the rolling cone. Bits having tungsten carbide inserts are typically referred to as “TCI” bits, while those having teeth formed from the cone material are commonly known as “steel tooth bits.” In each instance, the cutter elements on the rotating cone cutters breakup the formation to form new borehole by a combination of gouging and scraping or chipping and crushing.
In oil and gas drilling, the cost of drilling a borehole is proportional to the length of time it takes to drill to the desired depth and location. The time required to drill the well, in turn, is greatly affected by the number of times the drill bit must be changed in order to reach the targeted formation. This is the case because each time the bit is changed, the entire string of drill pipes, which may be miles long, must be retrieved from the borehole, section by section. Once the drill string has been retrieved and the new bit installed, the bit must be lowered to the bottom of the borehole on the drill string, which again must be constructed section by section. As is thus obvious, this process, known as a “trip” of the drill string, requires considerable time, effort and expense. Accordingly, it is always desirable to employ drill bits which will drill faster and longer and which are usable over a wider range of formation hardness.
The length of time that a drill bit may be employed before it must be changed depends upon its ability to “hold gage” (meaning its ability to maintain a full gage borehole diameter), its rate of penetration (“ROP”), as well as its durability or ability to maintain an acceptable ROP. The form and positioning of the cutter elements (both steel teeth and tungsten carbide inserts) upon the cone cutters greatly impact bit durability and ROP and thus, are critical to the success of a particular bit design.
The inserts in TCI bits are typically inserted in circumferential rows on the rolling cone cutters. Most such bits include a row of inserts in the heel surface of the rolling cone cutters. The heel surface is a generally frustoconical surface and is configured and positioned so as to align generally with and ream the sidewall of the borehole as the bit rotates. The heel inserts function primarily to maintain a constant gage and secondarily to prevent the erosion and abrasion of the heel surface of the rolling cone.
In addition to the heel row inserts, conventional bits typically include a circumferential gage row of cutter elements mounted adjacent to the heel surface but oriented and sized in such a manner so as to cut the corner of the borehole. Conventional bits also include a number of additional rows of cutter elements that are located on the cones in circumferential rows disposed radially inward or in board from the gage row. These cutter elements are sized and configured for cutting the bottom of the borehole, and are typically described as inner row cutter elements.
Typically positioned on or near the apex of one or more of the rolling cone cutters, are cutter elements commonly referred to as a nose cutter or nose row cutters. Such cutters are generally responsible for cutting the central portion (or core) of the hole bottom. They may be positioned as a single cutter at or very near the apex of the cone cutter, or may be disposed in a circumferential row of several cutter element near to the cone apex.
In conventional TCI bits, conventional nose row cutters are typically of the chisel-shaped or conical designs. A chisel-shaped insert possesses a crest forming an elongated cutting edge that impacts the core portion of the hole bottom. By contrast, as compared to a standard chisel-shaped cutter, a conical insert is considered less aggressive as it has a relatively blunt cutting surface, and does not include the relatively sharp cutting edge of the chisel's crest. With only one cutting edge, a chisel-shaped insert employed as a nose row cutter will only contact the core approximately 1.25 times per bit revolution. At the same time, due to their greater numbers, a row of cutter elements in other locations on each cone contact the hole bottom with much greater frequency and thereby remove formation material faster than at the borehole center. In certain formations, this may result in a core of material that remains uncut and builds up in the center of the borehole, causing the drilling of the borehole to be slower and more costly. Furthermore, the cutting crest of a conventional chisel shaped cutter element is relatively thin relative to the overall diameter of the cutter element. For example, the standard chisel shaped cutter element has relatively little supporting material to oppose a side force that is imposed on the opposite side of the chisel face. In part for this reason, chisel shaped inserts, particularly in hard formations, will tend to chip, and may break, more readily than a more blunt surface conical shaped insert, for example.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a nose row insert with a more aggressive cutting surface, so as to remove more material from the hole bottom with fewer revolutions of the bit. Such an enhanced design would result in a higher ROP and an increase in the footage drilled. At the same time, however, the cutter element should be able to withstand drilling in formations typically encountered when drilling with TCI bits. Thus, the desire for a more aggressive nose row cutter must be tempered by the need for providing a durable and relatively long-lasting cutter, one that will resist breakage even in formations harder than those typically drilled with steel tooth bits.